“The best our imagination has, in my opinion, is the question: what if.”
In this podcast episode of How To Write the Future, your host, creativity coach and science fiction and fantasy novelist Beth Barany, asks the question, “What If?” in different scenarios. She shares an exercise you can complete in minutes to inspire you to think differently. Lastly, she invites listeners to get involved by sharing their What-If ideas in a 60-second or less audio to be featured for an upcoming episode.
ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST
The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Tips for fiction writers!
This podcast is for you if you have questions like:
- How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
- How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
- How do I make my story more alive?
- How do I determine my genre, especially if I've created something not seen before?
This podcast is for you, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.
ABOUT YOUR HOST, BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is an award-winning novelist, certified creativity coach for writers, and a international workshop facilitator. In addition to her how-to books for writers, Beth has published over 12 books in young adult fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction mystery.
RESOURCES
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Go to speakpipe.com/howtowritethefuture to leave your What-if positive future scenarios, up to 60 seconds, and get featured on an upcoming How To Write The Future episode. Be sure to include your name and your book title, if applicable.
HORIZONS MODEL
MIRROR NEURONS
WHAT THE BRAIN THINKS IS REAL
Show notes by Kerry-Ann McDade.
Production by Beth Barany.
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CONNECT
Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580
Email: beth@bethbarany.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/
CREDITS
EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://get.descript.com/0clwwvlf6e3j
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465
18. What If
If you would like to get some promotion for you and your books, and you have some fun quirky interesting wacky potential positive future scenarios to share with us, I would love to hear it.
And I've created an opportunity for you to share it in a 60-second message or less with me, and with all the listeners of this podcast.
If you're up for that and you want to play, all you need to do is go to speakpipe.com/HowToWriteTheFuture to leave a message have up to 60 seconds. And you will get featured on a future episode of How to Write The Future.
I really want to hear from you. Whether you're a writer. Whether you're a reader, whether you like thinking about the future, or you just like to wonder what-if, please do share your vision with us.
[00:01:15] WELCOME
Hi everyone. Welcome to our next episode of How to Write the Future. This is a podcast for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to create optimistic stories because when we vision what is possible, we help make it so.
I'm your host, Beth Barany. I am a science fiction and fantasy writer myself and a creativity coach, focusing on helping science fiction and fantasy authors with their stories.
[00:01:44] WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE?
Why is it important to learn how to write the future? From a biological perspective, humans seem wired, so that what we envision in our mind feels real to our brain.
At That's what brain scientists have shown. They've also shown that our brainwaves mimic what another person does or describes.
So another person doesn't have to be doing a thing for our brain to match it.
They just need to tell a story about it.
Imagine you could tell a story that induces the listener or viewer or reader to forget about their now and to feel they've gone there. In that way, places like the bridge of a starship, or the dusty planet of Tatooine, or the castle wall of Helm's deep seems real.
We go there. Not only do we forget our lives for a little while, we get a break, we also get to rehearse what it would feel like to face those challenges that in our normal lives we'd never usually run toward.
In a previous podcast episode, I shared about the horizons model.
That was an episode 16 called the Horizons Model for storytelling. You can see the link in the show notes. In that episode I shared what was the Horizons Model and I'll summarize it for you here.
In essence, people and therefore the organizations and companies and institutions that we create can have primarily one of three orientations.
They can either be focused in the past. We call that H one. Or they could be focused in the present. That would be H two. Or there are primarily future-focused. That would be H three.
Now of course , people and organizations can be a mixture of these.
While the future is always unknown. That is what makes it the future, we can prepare for it. We can write multiple scenarios.
We can imagine a world that, for example, stays a lot the same but is worse for most or all of the people and organisms we share the planet with. Or maybe it stays a lot the same, but better from most or all of the people and organisms that we share this planet with. Or we could imagine a world that changes radically from the way it is today.
And this is where the power of the imagination comes in.
The best tool our imagination has, in my opinion, is the question: what if.
For example:
What if kindness was the currency we measured success by?
What would that look like? Feel like? Smell like? Sound like?
What if hugging was the new norm? Even with strangers.
What if learning how to tell jokes and make people laugh was part of our school's curriculum at every level?
And what if crying, being sad, being angry, and other big emotions was also considered currency on par with kindness?
I just came up with these four what ifs?.
And now I stepped back and I asked myself, What kind of world have I created here?
I'm not sure, but I'm actually really curious to explore this. And by the way, these four what if questions were inspired by an article I read as research for this podcast. The article is called, "If you live from your heart. It's good for your heart" by David Hamilton.
And the link is in the show notes. So, what about you? What What Ifs are you curious about exploring?
[00:06:19] EXERCISE
Here's an exercise for you:
Write several what-if statements in a row off the top of your head, whatever is top of mind for you.
Then pause and reread them, and see how they inspire you to think differently about what could be.
What implications for the world you are creating show up?
How do you see yourself in that world?
And how can you bring the five senses?
Actually, there's more than five senses. How can you bring the senses into the moment of this world that you are brainstorming to bring it alive for you and for the readers.
[00:07:03] I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
Want to get some promotion for you and your books?
And do you have a potential positive future to share with the world?
Because when you share your potential positive future, you help it become real in the minds of your listeners and your readers.
As my show tagline says, "When we share our visions with the world, we help make it so."
Through story and compelling communication, potential can become actual.
I would love to hear from you.
I would love to hear your what-if, or multiple what ifs in audio for a future broadcast of my podcast.
If you would like to get some promotion for you and your books, and you have some fun quirky interesting wacky potential positive future scenarios to share with us, I would love to hear it.
And I've created an opportunity for you to share it in a 60-second message or less with me. And with all the listeners of this podcast.
If you're up for that and you want to play, all you need to do is go to speakpipe.com/HowToWriteTheFuture to leave a message have up to 60 seconds. And you will get featured on a future episode of How to Write The Future.
I really want to hear from you. Whether you're a writer. Whether you're a reader, whether you like thinking about the future, or you just like to wonder what-if, please do share your vision with us.